


Open Secret

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Captain America: The First Avenger, Canon Divergence - Iron Man 1, Gen, Secret Identity, Secret Identity Fail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28482192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: Tony turns to him, threats and damnation on his tongue, but all Coulson does is slap his sidearm into Tony's hand. "Don't fuck this up Stark."Canon divergent fic for Iron Man and CA:TFA where Steve is defrosted shortly before Tony's kidnapping and SHIELD assigns him to Tony's personal detail.
Relationships: Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 48
Collections: 2020 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange





	Open Secret

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cap Iron Man Community](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Cap+Iron+Man+Community).



> Written for the following Cap-IM Community prompt:
> 
> _“there’s no way in hell i’m leaving you behind” Steve as Tony's bodyguard AU_
> 
> Betas to be named after reveals. Hope you enjoy!!

When the explosive goes off, Tony's just staggered his way to the exit with the rest of their motley crew. He's got Happy's hand at his shoulder, Coulson in front of him getting the door open, and Pepper in his arms. Coulson doesn't flinch at the sound, but Pepper shrieks and Happy startles. Tony, though. Tony can only look behind them and think of Rogers.

Fuck. Tony got him into this situation. It's time Tony got him out of it.

"Happy," Tony says. Happy turns to him, and before he can think twice, Tony's easing Pepper off to him. "Keep an eye on her, will you?"

Pepper makes a strangled sound. She knows what he's thinking because she's seen how Tony's been looking at Rogers these last few weeks. Tony gives her a nod and a smile before he turns to sprint back inside. Before he can get far, though, Coulson grabs him by the wrist and pulls him up short.

Tony turns to him, threats and damnation on his tongue, but all Coulson does is slap his sidearm into Tony's hand. "Don't fuck this up Stark."

Tony nods sharply before turning on his heel and running through the burning factory to Rogers' side.

He has to be okay. He has to.

* * *

To say that Tony had been skeptical when Coulson had first introduced Rogers to him would have been an understatement. The guy was huge, sure, but he seemed constantly out of place, and he spends most of the alleged interview looking around the room with the kind of fascination Tony's used to seeing in small children.

"And explain to me why, again, you're assigning me a new bodyguard? I have one already."

"Mr. Stark, the people that took you hostage in Afghanistan are still at large. I need to ensure that you are kept safe for as long as necessary until we can find them and neutralize the threat that they pose."

"Neutralize? That's a hell of a word, Agent."

"I have my orders, Mr. Stark. Don't make this any harder for yourself than it needs to be."

"Is that a threat?"

"Not yet."

Tony grits his teeth and looks back up at the agent in question. He certainly doesn't look as experienced as Coulson, which isn't to say that Tony doubts the man's experience. He's just not certain that he wants someone he neither knows nor trusts in his general vicinity while he's trying to figure out what, exactly, had led to his imprisonment in Afghanistan, not to mention who's been selling his weapons under the table. Something in him trusts Coulson's intelligence — he'd known to go to Pepper first where everyone else still assumed he was steering this ship — but that doesn't mean he's going to trust anyone the man puts in his line of sight.

"Trust me, Mr. Stark. There's no one in the country better equipped to keep you safe than Captain Stevens."

Stevens looks down at him, his eyes cool and collected, and Tony can't help but believe what Coulson is saying. Tony looks back at the senior agent. "Alright. But he follows my rules, understood?"

"And what would those be, exactly?"

"Oh, so he does speak," Tony says, sitting back and spreading his legs. "What, you were gonna let Coulson do all the talking for you?"

"Hardly. I just didn't see a point in arguing with you if you were just going to tell Agent Coulson that you weren't interested in my protection."

"And what makes you so special anyway?"

Stevens glances over at Coulson. He doesn't say anything, but Stevens' jaw tightens. "I'm good at what I do."

"Sure, everyone thinks that until they're getting shot at."

"I've been shot at before."

That catches Tony's attention. "Have you, now?"

"Yes."

Tony reassesses his first impression of Stevens. He seems a damn sight more intriguing than he had five minutes ago. "Say I believe you. Say I'm willing to play along with this. What are your qualifications."

"That's classified." Coulson cuts in before Stevens can say anything. "Now, you'll take the man I leave with you and you'll like it, Stark, because I'm not letting you out of my reach again. There's more at stake here than you know, and it's high time you started letting the people around you look out for you, understood?"

Tony blinks. "Sure thing, Agent."

"Very good." Coulson nods once at Stevens before he makes his way to the door. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted."

"Acquainted my ass," Tony mutters. The man doesn't look like he's interested in Tony in the slightest. Stevens raises an eyebrow at him, but doesn't comment. "Fine," Tony says. "If you're going to be on my ass for the foreseeable future, let's get a few things straight. You don't comment on who I bring home with me. You don't hover. You keep your gun where it belongs, which is in its holster, at all times. And most importantly, you don't come in the lab. Ever."

"I'm not sure that's going to be possible, Mr. Stark. Agent Coulson has tasked me with keeping you safe, and that means being near to you at all times. I can hardly expect you to keep yourself safe if your actions since your return from Afghanistan have been any indication. I will be here to keep an eye on you at all times, and if that includes hovering and following you to your lab, so be it."

Tony gets to his feet. "My lab has the most state-of-the-art security in the world, and I know that because I designed it. No one's getting in unless I give them permission, so unless you plan on stalking me to the point of coming into the lab directly behind me, I can certainly keep you out if I want to."

"That just means I'll be standing guard outside the door for as long as you're in there."

"Is that a challenge?"

Stevens smirks at him, and Tony ignores the way his knees go weak at that. Huh. He can't have that.

"If you think I'm going to just be a good little soldier and fall in line just because you bat those pretty eyelashes at me, you've got another thing coming."

Tony turns on his heel so fast as he marches down the hall to the lab that he misses the wide-eyed look of surprise on the man's face. He schools it, though, and follows Tony to the lab.

Tony shuts the door in Stevens' face. The man looks unamused, but he doesn't look particularly miffed. He just shrugs at Tony through the glass and stands at parade rest at the other end of the landing. He raises that same eyebrow at Tony as they stand there in a silent stalemate. All at once, Tony thinks this guy might be more than he expected.

"JARVIS, black out all audio from the lab."

"Yes, sir."

"And while you're at it, see if you can find any matches to Stevens in our facial recognition software."

"Of course, sir."

Tony's not sure what he's looking for, but if anyone can find it, JARVIS can.

* * *

After two days and seven fights with his new shadow, Tony had thought he was ready to see what the hell JARVIS had found on the man. The AI had pinged him two hours ago that he'd found a match, but Tony had been stuck in a meeting with Obie and Pepper and hadn't been able to get away.

Now, as he stares at the screen in front of him, he's pretty sure JARVIS is trying to pull one over on him.

"Steve Rogers," Tony says. "You're trying to tell me that SHIELD put _Steve Rogers_ up as my personal detail."

The silence from the AI is telling.

"And you can't find any other matches."

"No, sir. There is no one else in the database that matches his facial structure with this degree of accuracy."

"He could have gotten plastic surgery to look like Rogers."

"Improbable. Even with today's techniques, there would still be evidence of the surgery and the underlying structure would be such that he couldn't be this close of a match."

It's not that Tony doubts his AI's ability. Far from it; he programmed JARVIS himself. But what he's proposing is beyond improbable. It's impossible. "Steve Rogers died taking down a HYDRA plane more than sixty years ago. He can't possibly be up here and walking around."

"And yet, he is."

Tony doesn't have it in him to argue any more. If JARVIS is sure, it's unlikely that Tony is going to find any more information here. Which means his next move is obvious. He needs to watch Stevens — because he won't believe that the man is Steve Rogers just yet — and see if there's any evidence that he might be anything like the legendary soldier that Tony spent so many years hearing about.

He starts by watching Stevens in the kitchen and the dining room. He doesn't cook, but Tony had started ordering enough food for both of them from the kitchens. The man puts away enough food to put Happy to shame, and if he notices Tony carefully increasing the amount of food for each meal, he doesn't say anything. More evidence in the Captain America pile; the man burns a lot more calories than a mere mortal.

Tony had queued up the footage from the gym the first afternoon after JARVIS had allegedly discovered the man's identity. The sight of him absolutely demolishing not one, not two, but three punching bags over the course of those three days is also definitely evidence in the Captain America pile. Not that Tony's convinced yet, but it's getting a lot harder to deny what JARVIS is saying as the evidence mounts. Between his reflexes, his eyesight, and his apparent lack of need for sleep, Tony isn't sure he's going to win any arguments with JARVIS any time soon.

So he does what he does best. Repress, repress, repress. And maybe, just for fun, create things while he represses.

* * *

The Iron Man suit comes together, and so does the information about more arms dealers in Gulmira. All it takes is a blackout of the lab and a serious reigning in of his temper to get him out of Stevens'— _Rogers'_ grip for long enough to take down the bastards in Yinsen's hometown. Tony didn't necessarily want Rogers to be the one that found him afterward, but there had been no real way to keep him out once he used the emergency override codes that Tony had foolishly given him a week ago. Tony isn't sure if he's grateful or pissed that it's Rogers that pulls the bullets from the suit, and, once or twice, from his skin. Rogers doesn't say anything, though, not like Pepper or Rhodey would.

"You're not mad?"

Rogers shrugs. "I've been around you long enough to know that I can't stop you from doing what you think you need to do. All I can do is try to convince you not to do it alone."

"What, you want me to find someone that wants to get shot up overseas with me?" Tony scoffs. "Please. No one's that crazy."

Rogers doesn't say anything, but as Tony remembers who exactly it is that he's talking to, he starts to think that he may have been a bit hasty in that declaration. There may be one other person who's that crazy, and he may be kneeling between Tony's thighs, stitching him up.

Well. There's a thought.

* * *

Tony gets used to Rogers hanging around. He doesn't let on that he knows who the guy is, though there are a few close calls. In the end, though, it isn't Tony's knowledge of him that holds them together. It's Rogers' persistence. Tony's used to people deciding that he's too much, that they'd rather be anywhere he isn't, but Rogers isn't like that. He shows an active, avid interest in Tony's work. He asks all the right questions at all the right times. It's impressive, especially knowing what Tony does about who Rogers is and where he's from. The guy must be reading engineering textbooks at home at night to keep up with Tony.

The thought warms something in his chest — the idea that Rogers maybe, possibly, sees him as a friend. Not that he'd do anything about it, Captain America is the paragon of duty and the letter of the law; there's no way he'd take well to being hit on by the person he's supposed to protect.

So Tony does his best to keep it in his pants and learns to enjoy just being in Rogers' company, even if that company involves a lot fewer beds and orgasms than Tony would like.

That lasts until Tony starts getting deeper into Obie's machinations. He'd wondered for a while if Obie was behind the double dealing, but he could hardly walk up to one of his top executives and ask him to out himself as the warmongering devil he was. No, this was going to take finesse, something Tony had in droves but that Rogers, unfortunately, did not. If Rogers continues to stick around this closely, there's little Tony can do to take Obie down, meaning his choices are to shake his detail (not wise) or teach his detail the meaning of the word stealth. 

Well. Shit.

* * *

Tony didn't think he'd regret sending Rogers to help keep an eye on Pepper while she cleared out Obie's hard drive, but when Obie himself shows up at Tony's door with that damn auditory paralytic (your genius will be your downfall) he's having serious second thoughts. It's only the thought of what Obie would do to Rogers and Pepper with the arc reactor in his hands that gets him moving, dragging himself down to the lab and the back-up arc reactor. Damn Pepper and her sentimentality saving his life. He'd have to get her something nice for Christmas.

He has just enough strength to drag himself to the reactor before he's collapsing, before he's staring gratefully up into DUM-E's face and smashing the glass. That's enough strain on his body to knock him out, and the next thing he sees is Rogers' worried face over him. It's enough to have Tony gripping him by the elbow, fear surging over his head.

"Pepper— is she—"

"Safe with Agent Coulson. You're the one I'm worried about. What the hell happened here?"

"Obie," Tony says through gritted teeth. "Came here. Took— Took a spare arc reactor. Probably using it to power his damn suits now."

"Suits?"

"Help me up," Tony says, clawing his way to standing using Rogers as his support. "We need to get to Pepper."

Rogers doesn't need telling twice. He gets Tony to his feet and, reluctantly, to the car. The Iron Man armor won't run on the original arc reactor, so Tony's going to have to trust in Rogers and Coulson to get them through this.

God, but that feels like the worst kind of weakness

* * *

Which is what landed him here, sprinting his way across the lab that's been turned into a veritable battlefield, to get to Rogers' side.

Predictably, Rogers is having exactly none of that.

"Tony, what the hell are you doing?"

"Getting you out of here."

"You're a civilian, you shouldn't be here."

"I'm a civilian that's been fulfilling military contracts since he was fifteen, I'm pretty sure I know how to handle myself around weaponry."

"That's not the point, Tony, the point is—"

"What? What exactly is the point, Steve?"

Rogers freezes. It's only an instant, but Tony's been watching him closely enough to know his tells by now. Rogers tries to cover it, but that instant of hesitation is all that Tony needs to be sure that he's right. "The point is that my job is to protect you, and I'm not about to let you get yourself hurt because of me. So just get out of here, alright?"

"There's no way in hell I'm leaving you behind."

Rogers is still trying to get Tony to stay behind him, and the words don't penetrate whatever's going on in that brain of his. Tony huffs and grabs Rogers by the hair at the base of his scalp. He pulls Rogers around to face him, close enough that he could kiss a man if he was so inclined. Tony is so inclined, but this really isn't the time.

"I'm in this for the long run, Captain. I'd appreciate it if you'd take that seriously."

Rogers stares at him, the words finally seeming to sink in. "Tony? You..."

"Know who you are?" Tony supplies when Rogers doesn't finish the sentence. "Yeah, I do. Have since day three. No one can put down three of my punching bags in three days. Why do you think they stopped falling apart on you after a week? I had a new set designed to withstand your strength."

"Tony, I'm so sorry, I should have told you."

"You were still trying to figure out who you could trust. I get it. Besides," he says as another repulsor blast lands about fifteen feet from them. "Do you really think that this is the time for this conversation?"

Rogers grimaces. "No, I don't suppose it is. Alright, then. You have a plan?"

"Not really."

"Then what the hell did you think you were going to do that would help?"

Tony grins. "I've got a gun in my hand and the star-spangled man with a plan next to me. What more do I need?"


End file.
